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“This must be the only place in Ireland where you can see giraffes and elephants on your walk.” I’m standing at the top of Cave Hill looking down at Belfast Zoo with walking guides Rodney Ferguson and Nicky Jones. And while we can’t see any giraffes, we do spy some brown bears lumbering around in the enclosure below. I imagine them scrambling up these shadowy hills after dark, roaming the silent forest and bellowing over the city.

Rising to a height of over 370 metres, and visible from almost everywhere in the city, Cave Hill occupies a special place in the hearts, minds and lives of Belfast’s citizens. Marked by the caves from which it gets its name, the hill is also famous for a lofty cliff called Napoleon’s Nose, which nature has sculpted to resemble the French emperor. Along the top of this ridge, there are also the remains of an Iron Age fortification called McArts Fort.

From here, the panoramic views stretch out to take in the Titanic Quarter, Belfast Lough and the Mourne Mountains. But from below, the craggy silhouette of Cave Hill looks imposing and monumental. In her poem, Mountain Shapes, 19th century poet Alice Milligan immortalised its connection to Belfast:

“Look up from the streets of the city,

Look high beyond tower and mast,

What hand of what Titan sculptor

Smoke the crags on the mountains vast”

These crags are said to have inspired author Jonathan Swift to create Gulliver’s Travels, resembling, as they do, a sleeping giant. And while there is no evidence to this story, it’s a romantic tale that certainly captures the imagination.

But Cave Hill doesn’t need tall tales – it has history, it has geology, it has drama. And a walk around it is the way to get to know it best.